I, Claudius
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Movie Reviews of I, Claudius
Movie Review: An Amazing Drama Worth Experiencing Many Times
Summary: 5 Stars
Here we have a family saga full of intrigue, love, hate, violence, lust, ambition, and insanity. The drama is heightened because it the family includes Roman Emperors, beginning with Augustus through Nero. The wonderful dramatic mechanism is the narration of the story by Claudius (played so wonderfully by Derek Jacobi) who is thought to be a fool and yet ends up, briefly, the Emperor. He is writing his own history of the family and empire from just before he is born until his wife betrays him in favor of her son, Nero. Along the way we get the amazing and evil Livia (Sian Phillips), the crazed Caligula (played so bravely by John Hurt). This is a big story, based in outline in fact, but is most of all a great story told memorably.It is told in 13 episodes as it was aired over the BBC. It is from the mid-1970s and has some of that period's style and production values, but that really doesn't make it dated because the story and the acting are so powerful.
This five disk collection also includes a documentary of a 1937 version that was going to be done for the big screen and would have starred, among others, Merle Oberon, and Charles Laughton. It documents what it was intended to be and why it failed.
This series is an amazing experience and its all-star cast almost uniformly went on to great heights. It is really something that needs to be experienced and you will likely want to view it many times.
Movie Review: Incomparable portrait of a dysfunctional family
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of the greatest films ever. The acting is uniformly superb (the camerawork emphasizes this by very effective closeups which clearly reveal the character's thoughts and feelings), and the script is literate, insightful and mordantly witty. For me, Livia is the most central character, even more than that of Claudius himself, for it is her treacherous, vicious and murderous actions, and the soul destroying effect it has on others, that creates the fear, distrust, sadism and brutality that ultimately brings about the downfall of the Claudian royal family. The ultimate irony is that while Livia truly believed that by securing the throne for her son, Tiberius (who she, again ironically, felt contempt for) by getting rid of all those who stood in the way, she was actually securing the survival of the Claudians, the effect of her actions was actually to tear that family apart. As Livia, Sian Phillips creates an unforgettable portrait of a woman who is supremely brilliant, forceful, cunning and filled with contempt for humanity (as demonstrated by the attitude she displays towards the weaknesses and vulnerabilities of those around her). She really inhabits her very demanding role to a degree that I have never seen surpassed.I have never seen any other film that puts the dark side of human behavior under a microscope as this one does so memorably.
Movie Review: Incomparable portrait of a dysfunctional family
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of the greatest films ever. The acting is uniformly superb (the camerawork emphazizes this by very effective closeups which clearly reveal the character's thoughts and felings), and the script is literate, insightful and mordantly witty. For me, Livia is the most central character, even more than that of Claudius himself, for it is her treacherous, vicious and murderous actions, and the soul destroying effect it has on others, that creates the fear, distrust, sadism and brutality that ultimately brings about the downfall of the Claudian royal family. The ultimate irony is that while she truly believed that by securing the throne for her son, Tiberius (who she, again ironically, felt contempt for) through getting rid of all those who stood in the way, she was actually securing the survival of the Claudians, she was actually tearing that family apart. As Livia, Sian Phillips creates an unforgettable portrait of a woman who is supremely brilliant, forceful, cunning and filled with contempt for humanity (as demonstrated by the attitude she displays towards the weaknesses and vulnerabilities of those around her). She really inhabits her very demanding role to a degree that I have never seen surpassed.I have never seen any other film that puts the dark side of human behavior under a microscope as this one does so memorably.
Movie Review: A masterpiece of acting and writing!
Summary: 5 Stars
If you just picked this series up on DVD because of a whim, you may be rather disappointed by the limited shots, restricted sets, long pauses, sharp quality of BBC video and absolute lack of musical score. These are the first impressions of the uninitiated...oh how quickly we judge the veneer of an object to be its true character. However, just like its main subject Claudius, this series has far more depth of understanding then it first appears. Written from the autobiography of Tiberius Claudius, the Roman emperor between Caligula and Nero, it details the family workings, loves, betrayals and insanities within the Roman monarchy . I, Claudius begins with Augustus and ends with Claudius final breath. An excellent essay on power and its ability to corrupt infinitely, it is a brilliantly written and acted series. Derek Jacobi (Claudius) and the huge cast of familiar British actors really make this a believable drama by taking you in through their skill in emoting. Most amazing is Jacobi's ability to twitch and stammer very convincingly making the viewer believe Claudius is as simple and nieve as his family thinks. Roman history is pretty boring, academic stuff, but because this story deals with the hopes, desires and lusts of real people it lives forever as a magnificent epic on paper as well as through the raster.Movie Review: The DVD I, Claudius: Perfection Improved Upon!
Summary: 5 Stars
I was one of the original fans of I, Claudius when it was shown on Masterpiece Theater in the 1970s. When the VHS version was released in the early 1990s I bought a set and have enjoyed it many times. When I noticed that the tapes were becoming somewhat worn I bought the DVD version. There is only one word for this series on DVD: magnificent! For the first time I truly appreciated the sumptuousness of the sets and costumes. Marble shines, jewels sparkle, the silks almost rustle. The colors are amazing. The audio is excellent as well. Every aside, whisper, and stammer is crystal clear, unlike the VHS version where sometimes all you hear are mutters. If you are not familiar with the story, I,Claudius is the history of the reigns of the first five Roman Emperors as envisoned by Robert Graves in the 1930s. The Julio-Claudians ruled their empire but could not control their own passions or their own relatives. Every episode is brimful of intrigue, passion, and wicked humor. Also included in this DVD set is a documentary on "The Epic That Never Was" about the first time I,Claudius was to be filmed. The interviews with the surviving stars and the bits and piecesthat have survived from the film before it was cancelled reveal it to have been possibly one of the great films of the 1930s.